[Wired] EU votes to protect net neutrality, end roaming charges

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have voted for stricter rules against internet providers blocking or slowing internet services provided by competitors [...]

The vote was not without controversy, given that the net neutrality element contains a glaring caveat, with wording that says that "specialised services" can be exempted from the principle. Some services such as IPTV and "business-critical data intensive cloud applications" do work better when they are given dedicated bandwidth -- provided that doesn't interfere with the internet speeds offered to customers -- but the wording isn't clear enough. The worry is that ISPs could end up doing deals with some content providers such as Netflix in order that their content is prioritised over other services -- something that has already happened in the US. This has led digital rights activists such as La Quadrature du Net to criticise the decision.